My first day "da sola"

Translated: alone.

Today was the first day I had the chance to be on my own with the kids. It was only for an hour and a half or so while Sara was at school and Patrizio ran errands, but that period of time can suddenly feel very long under the right conditions :) Thankfully, it was anything but long!

Leonardo was wonderful today. Before Patrizio left, he gave Leo the stern eye and told him he had to be bravo and a help to me, and the little guy went above and beyond what I expected! He sent us out of the kitchen - us being Ginevra, Veronica, and me - and cleaned the WHOLE kitchen by himself. He washed the breakfast dishes, cleaned the counter, and swept the floor to a state of perfection (as in, he moved all the chairs out of the way - either out of the kitchen or up on the kitchen table - and then he swept)! It was adorable, and really helped me out because it freed me up to take care of the girls. Grazie, Leo!


The girls were just hilarious. Veronica, as I mentioned before, is still warming up to me a bit, but I am getting very close to a home run I think. Today she got upset quite a few times about this or that, but the last time she really got to crying she looked up and reached for me! It sounds horrible to say that was one of my happiest moments of the day, because she was crying, but it truly was a highlight. She isn't crying in the shot below, but you can certainly imagine the potential for pitiful to the max when you look at those big, brown eyes!


Ginevra and Veronica play together well for the most part - so much better than last time! Gigia seems to have embraced the role of big sister, and in addition to that change in mindset she has grown up and settled down quite a bit. She's still got her crazy side though! I think that will always remain intact, even when she's 90 years old :)


After playing inside for an hourish, we switched locations and ventured out into the yard for fresh air and sunshine. Leonardo hit the hammock almost immediately, and when he did it made me think of all those pictures I took of him there last summer. I reminded him of it, and he asked that I do a retake! Also, I know you can't read all of his shirt, but it's in English and it says: "Just because you say that you surf, doesn't mean that you're a surfer!"

I had my hands a little fuller outside, mainly because there seem to be so many more perils outdoors than in. Leonardo was jumping in and out of the hammock, which made me a little nervous because I can remember flipping out of those when I was little ...

Lolo was constantly up and down the stairs, which also made me nervous because I still fall down stairs and know just how much that can hurt ...

... and Ginevra was in and out of pretty much everything! Everytime I turned around it was something new :) If you want to see more of our playtime in and out of doors this morning, there are many more on Picasa - including a video of Ginevra talking up a storm! Translation is available by request ...

After another little while, Patrizio returned and we gathered the kids for a midday excursion. Lolo was pushed by Patrizio in the stroller, Leo walked, and Ginevra, naturally, was quite literally attached to my hip almost the whole time. If it sounds like I mind her clingyness, I blame it on the flatness of the blogged word!

We walked up to La Casa dello Studente, an outdoorsy hostel-type place where Italy-Switzerland trip Meredith students used to stay before the location changed to the Servi, which is where I stayed. I had never seen this place before, so it was fun to poke around a bit! Then we went and took care of the real reason we had come: fichi! It was fig-picking time ...


Now, I'll be honest: fig-picking is not my favorite activity. Your hands get all sticky, and le zanzare (mosquitoes) abound, and, well ... I don't know! I'm just not a fan. It worked out though, because Veronica needed looking after and the beautiful landscape around was just BEGGING to be photographed.


Lolo was not happy to be designated to the stroller and kept saying, "Scenddddo!" (scendo = first person singular of scendere, which means "to go or come down," so literally translated she was saying, "I come DOWN!" ... emphasis mine). Her next two most frequent words? Fichi and Behhhhtah :)

In between keeping the little sciocchina somewhat peaceable, I kept wandering into the edge of the beautiful vineyard just near us, by the fig tree. I couldn't decide which were piu' bella, the red ones or the green ones. Mi piace molto l'uva ... I really like grapes!

After enough figs had been picked, we packed up the crew and walked back down the mountain (or, halfway down, because Sara and Patrizio's house is about halfway up) and made a beeline for the kitchen. See, picking figs is one thing, but eating them is quite another! Yes, eating them, that I can certainly do, and well :)

Not sure what tomorrow holds other than more time with the kids and working on a couple projects for Dr. Webb. I need to do laundry. Hmmm, maybe I should do that tomorrow ...


A domani!